Machine for wrapping folded sheets



y 1950 J. A. HOLMBERG 2,506,021

mcnma FOR WRAPPING FOLDED SHEETS Filed Feb. 15, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. JOHN A. HOLMBERG ATTORNEY y 9 J. A. HOLMBERG 2,506,021

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING FOLDED SHEETS Filed Feb. 15, 1947 3 Shts-Sheet 2INVENTOR. JOHN A. HOLMBERG ATTORNEY Filed Feb. 15, 1947 y 1950 J. A.HOLMBERG 2,506,021

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING FOLDED SHEETS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 WWW/WWW FIG.6

FIG. 7

IINVENTOR. JOHN A. HOLMBERG BY ATTORNEY Patented May 2, 1950 um-recSTATES PATENT OFFICE *MACHINEEEQR WRKPPINGTOLDED SHEETS John :A..Holmberg, .Camas, Wash assignor to iCrownZellerhach Corporation, isanFrancisco, Calm, .a corporationcof Nevada 4 13laims. 31

linvention relates -.to machines designed to :press together and wrap-bundles =oi folded, doublerfolded; or interfoldedsheets ofpaper,.-particul-arly folded sheets of toilet tissue, paper towelsandtheilike.

An object of thetpresent-invention istoprovide an improved machine whichwill 1 press "and" compress-suchbundles of foldedl tissue orother; paperas they :are delivered 'from the' folding machine and will cause .awrapper to he .placed @around each bundle, after which the bundles vcan1 beacut transversely into'finishedicommercialipackages of the desireduniform-length.

A Iurther "obj ect of this inventioniiseto provide a packaging machinefor folded atissue -.sheets which will *be relatively zsimple i inrccnstruction and-simple,- easy andzconvenient ifor' operation by asingle operator.

.An additional-object istoiprovide an improved machine of the typeab'oveindicated in "which a specially arranged squeeze bar iwillioperateautomatically to 'compressmachggroup of folded sheets into the desired ibundle size 1 to :enable the wrapper to the secured around thecompressed bundle-with a minimum-of effort-andcare on -the partof theoperator.

Another: specific object is to iprov-idc a machine for compressing andwrapping folded sheets :in which the operator willtb'e: required onlytoslid-e a group: of ifolded :sheets on :2. iworking surface 5 An..operating'table top tfliisisupported at each sidebylasuitablewstandardorw frame I I and these standards II also-serve as138331118751113130138 for the several transmerse1yextending whorizontalshafts.- hereinatter mentioned. :At .the front of the machine the tableftqp =10 terminatescin'a 5s plun e s 29 rer-p lr n r p chutelitseeFiaQand-Figsto 7)., which exiv ly to rockerarms 36 -6Eig. 2) The rocker:tends the full -idthpf athe -ma,ch1ne,:g,ndff1t0m 811111930:are.keye'd.tcea.shaft. 3 l .neanitsiepposito thehottoeo of which,tIiewrappedQ'icompresSed ends. An intermediate rocker armt-ilt whichdsbundles oi: folded; toilettissuelare. delireredl .The also: keyed .to.shaft -3 l is 0 arranged so a-a-s .to be two side walls of the chute I2are parallel and 155 :engaged by laifootnpedallever t3z-soithat down I 2arespaced adistance apartv equal approximately to the overall desiredwidth. .of the finished wrapped bundles soc-that-the-wrappedhundles.can

easily be pushed down the chuteand delivered from the bottom endthereof.

Beyond 1 each end: of .the .chute J2, :and on =the outside of-each ofthe .standards tl,1a.pair .of

vertical guideways J6 lliig. .3) are secured and a sliding block M ismounted for up and down movementat each side of themachine. .Each of-.these blocks :14 isconnected .by means 012a link 15 to a crank 1-8,and .the cranks Q16 .are

of i theposts I 8 (thus the. left hand post asiviewed inlfiig. 1)anda-counter balance .weightiU car- 'ried on: a rod 2 l securedto andextending beyond the end of the press bridge L9,:enablesthmpress bridgeis when swung-upwardly on the hingelat thatend-to remaininraised.inoperativeposition until -.the operator brings .the =.oppositeend .of. the press bridge downinto contactwith theother The other postI8 is provided twitha' post 18. yoke :22 which slides over thesaidaopposlte-end of thezpressbridge I19 and thus holds .thatend. of thepress bridge-down onlitspost LBin opera-.

tlve position when .desired. Partial .i'otation of the. shaftl-T thencausesthepress.bridgeto. move downwardly while maintaining itshorizontal position. .The .purposeof the press .bridge will .beexplained .later.

.A slot 23 =(Figs. 2 and 3),.extends-across the work table top I0. Anangle iron shield .Z Land a horizontalplate 25 are .mountedfor .uprvanddown movement within saidslot 23. The plate 254s supportedonaipairofmods 2'5 :whicirslide through stationary brackets .21.interposed. coil springs "Elk-one on eachlrod 2-5, actltcholdtthe plate23 normally .on the .samelevl. with .the work table .top ID but permitlthe plate .to he pusheddown: against the force of thesprings.

The z-angleiron .shield 24, which,. asshowniin' Figs..2.and 3,: has. averticalback wall and a ho'rl-.- zontalltop wall,is firmly.attachedateachl-end to" a .p1ungerod29, and the bottom .endszof .the.

ward pressure on the foot pedal 34 will cause downward movement of theplunge rods 29 and therewith downward movement of the angle iron shield24 and with it downward movement of the bar 36 when the latter ispositioned within the shield 24. A pair of coil springs 35 act to keepthe rods 29 normally in the raised position shown in Fig. 2.

A squeeze bar 36 (Figs. 1 and 2), preferably of rectangular crosssection, the length of which bar corresponds approximately to the widthof the work table top it and the cross sectional dimensions of whichcorrespond approximately to the inner dimensions of the shield Zjispivotally connected at its ends to a pair of blocks 3i respectively. Arod 38 (Figs. 1 and 3) is slidable in each pivot block 31. A stop 39 issecured on each rod 38 on one side of the pivot block 3i and acompression spring 40 is mounted on each rod 38 between the oppositeside of the block 3? and a nut 4i carried on the inner end of the rod38. The' forward or outer end of each rod 38 is connected to a crank arm42 and the pair of crank arms 62 are keyed to the ends of a shaft 43. Asprocket wheel 44, also keyed on shaft 43, i connected by a'sprocketchain 45 to a similar sprocket wheel keyed on the main drive shaft i!(the latter mentioned sprocket wheel being shown in broken line in Fig.3).

Thus rotation of the main drive shaft i'i produces up and down movementof the press bridge l9 and horizontal movement of the squeeze bar 36. Apair of guideways 46 limit the sliding movement of the squeeze bar 36 onthe work table top In.

A worm gear 41 (Fig. 2) keyed to the main shaft i1, is driven throughthe medium of a worm gear reducer (indicated at 48 in Fig. 2), and theworm gear reducer in turn is connected to a motor 49. Operation of themotor 49 i controlled by suitable manual press-button switches 56(Fig. 1) located conveniently near the operator. A pair of limit switchelements 5! (Fig. 2) having adjustable contact members, are mounted onthe worm gear 41 and are adapted to engage a cooperating limit swtichelement 52 which is connected to the motor 49.

The forward wall of the chute i2 extends above the level of the worktable top iii, as indicated at 53 in Figs. 2, 3 and l, and then extendshorizontally forward to form a narrow elevated horizontal support 54. Onthis support 54 are a pair ofs pring members 55 (Figs. 1 and 4) whichengage the forward edge of a wrapper sheet 56, the rear edge of whichextends through a slot in the work table top it and under a hingedspring lid indicated at5i. v

The operation of the device is as follows: The sheets of folded tissue5i! (Figs. 1 and 4) are delivered to the work table top ill from one ofthe well known paper cutting and folding mabe in the position shown inFig. 4. v Preferably the machine which folds the paper and delivers itto i the work table top Ill cuts a tab 6! in one of the sheets aftereach predetermined number of sheets.

as is sometimes customary in such machines, and this tab serves as anaid to the operator in having exactly the same number of sheets formedinto each bundler 1 shield 24 and the squeeze bar '36 are lnthe positionshown in Fig. 4. The press bridge I! (not shown in Fig. 4) is in theraised and inoperative position previously described. The operator firstplaces a wrapper sheet 56 in the position shown in Fig. 4. This wrappersheet may be obtained from a pile of wrapper sheets (not shown) locatedconveniently below the hinged lid 51 of the table top 3 ID, or from anyother satisfactory and convenient source. When the wrapper 56 is inposition the operator presses down on the foot pedal 34 (Figs. 1 and 2).This causes the shield 24 and squeeze bar 36 to be lowered to theposition shown in Fig. 5 with the top "surface of the shield 24 being onthe same level as the work table top i0. While the foot pedal 34' is'held down the operator reaches over and pulls-the first group of foldedsheets (that is, the group to the left of the marker Si in Fig. 4), tothe front of the machine into the position shown in Fig. 5. When thishas been done the operator releases the foot pedal 34 which permits theshield 24 and squeeze bar 35 to return to the normal raised positionpreviously referred to in Fig. 4. At the same time the operator pressesa push button switch starting the motor 49. This results in slowrotation of the main drive shaft ll and with it the shaft 43. Rotationof shaft 43 produces movement of the crank arms 42 (Fig. 2) and movementof the rods 38 and thus causes the squeeze bar 36 to move in a forward Fdirection as illustrated in Fig. 6, compressing the group of foldedsheets ahead of it. When the squeeze bar 36 has nearly reached itsextreme forward compressed position one of the limit switches associatedwith the drive gear 41 (Fig." 2) functions to shut oil the motor 49temporarily. The operator then brings the free or raised end of thepress bridge I!) down onto its supportingpost i8' (Fig. 2) and slidesthe yoke 22 over this end of the bridge Hi. When the press bridge isthus secured in place the operator pushes a press button switch to startthe motor again. Thissecond operation of the motor causes the squeezebar 36 to move a slight distance further forward to its extreme forwardposition and to remain in this position for a moment and simultaneouslycauses the press bridge I!) to move downwardly on top of the compressedbundle of folded tissues, this compressed bundle being indicated at 62in Fig. '7. As this'compressed bundle of sheets 62 is pushed downwardlyin the chute i2 by thepress bridge [9 the wrapper 55'i-s pulled downwith:

the bundle 62 as shown in Fig. 7. After slight further downward movementof the press bridge 19 the continued operation of the motor with thefurther rotation of the shafts i! and 43 causes the press bridge i9 tomove upwardly and causes the squeeze bar 36 to move rearwardly back tothe starting position illustrated'in Fig. 4. When. these members reachtheir starting positions the limit switch elements associated with thedrive gear again stop the motor. upon, the press bridge being raised,the operator folds the top flaps of the wrapper 56 over on each otherand on top of the bundle62. Adhesive is 55 in Fig. 4.

tion.

There- Various modifications could be made in the construction of thedifferent parts of the simple machine which I have described and whichhas been very satisfactorily employed for the carrying out of myinvention, and other mechanism could be designed for producing thevarious movements of the squeeze bar which constitutes an essentialfeature of my invention. It is not my intention to restrict my inventionto the particular operating mechanism illustrated and described or tolimit my invention otherwise than as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for wrapping folded sheets, a working table surface forreceiving the folded sheets to be wrapped, a stop element extending upabove the forward portion of said working table surface, a slotextending across said working table surface, a compressing member, ashield associated with said member, said member and shield normallypositioned above said slot, means for temporarily lowering said shieldand member to permit a group of folded sheets to be moved forward onsaid working table surface past said shield and member, means forreturning said shield and member to normal position, and means formoving said member forward from said shield on said working tablesurface from its normal position so as to enable said member to compressthe folded sheets located between said member and said stop element.

2. In a machine of the character described, a working table surface forreceiving folded sheets to be wrapped, a chute connected with theforward end of said working table surface, a retaining wall extending upabove the forward side of said chute, a squeeze bar extending the fullwidth of said working table surface, a slot extending across saidsurface, said squeeze bar normally positioned above said slot, a supportfor said squeeze bar in said slot, means for temporarily moving saidsupport and said squeeze bar downwardly in said slot to permit a groupof folded sheets to be moved forward on said working table surface pastsaid squeeze bar, means for returning said support and said squeeze barto normal position, means for sliding sa d. squeeze bar forward on thetop of said working table surface from its normal position to the rearside of said chute so as to enable said squeeze bar to compress thefolded sheets located between said squeeze bar and said retaining wall.a press member adapted to press downward on a group of sheets while saidgroup is held in compressed position by said squeeze bar and adapted topress said group down into said chute, and means associated andsynchronized with said squeeze bar sliding means for moving said pressmember downwardly on said group while said squeeze bar is in forwardposition.

3. In a machine of the character de cribed, a working table surface forreceiving folded sheets to be wrapped, a chute extending downwardly fromsaid working table surface, a stop wall extending up above the forwardside of said chute,

a squeeze bar, a shield extending over a portion of said squeeze bar,said squeeze bar and said shield normally positioned above said workingtable surface, means for temporarily lowering said shield and with itsaid squeeze bar to permit a group of folded sheets to be moved forwardon said work'ng table surface past said squeeze bar and shield and thenfor returning said shield and squeeze bar to normal position, means formoving said squeeze bar forward from said shield on said working tablesurface from the normal position of said squeeze bar to the rear wall ofsaid chute so as to enable sa d squeeze bar to compress the foldedsheets located between said squeeze bar and said stop wall, a pressmember adapted to press downward on a group of sheets while said groupis held in compressed position by said squeeze bar and adapted to presssaid group down into said chute, and means for moving said press memberdownwardly on said group while sa d squeeze bar is in forward position,whereby to push said compressed group of sheets down into said chute.

4. A machine for wrapping folded sheets comprising a working tablesurface for receiving folded sheets to be wrapped, a chute extendingdownwardly from the forward end of said working table surface, aretaining wall extend ng up above the forward side of said chute, asqueeze bar, a shield associated with said squeeze bar, said squeeze barand sa d shield normally positioned above sa d working table surface,means for temporari y lowering sa d squeeze bar and said shield topermit a group of folded sheets to be moved forward on said workingtable surface past said shield and said squeeze bar, and then forreturning said shield and squeeze bar to normal position, means formoving said squeeze bar forward on said working table surface from itsnormal position to the rear wall of said chute so as to enable saidsqueeze bar to compress the fold d sheets located between said squeezebar and said reta ning wall, a press member adapted to press downward ona group of sheets while said group is held in compressed position bysaid squeeze bar and ada ted to press sa d roup down into said chute,and means associated and synchronized with sa d latter mentioned squeezebar moving means for moving said press member downwardly on said roupwhile said squeeze bar is in forward position, whereby to push. saidcompressed group of sheets down into said chute.

JOHN A. HOLMBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,078,291 Kane et a1 Nov. 11,1913 1,913,727 Shaffer et al June 13, 1933 1,935,443 Guenther Nov. 14,1933

